Counter-clockwise from left: A postcard signed by riders calling for a funded transit system; new MTA chairman Jay Walder; car-free Broadway; new plans for Rt. 347 on Long Island; the Staten Island Expressway bus lane, now open to carpools.
New York State felt the brunt of the national recession in 2009, and its transportation agencies contended with lower revenue from fares, tolls, and taxes. Compounding these problems was political turmoil and a lack of leadership at the MTA and NYSDOT for significant parts of the year. In this climate, advocates tried to hold the line on both funding and policy, and succeeded in reducing fare hikes and service cuts at the MTA (though this story is not over, see below) and halting NYSDOT attempts to expand roads and close a pedestrian safety program. New York City was a happy exception, continuing to gain international acclaim for bold policies like closing parts of Broadway to cars and the “bikes in buildings” law.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
MTA riders began the year faced with major fare hikes and devastating service cuts. They ended the year facing very similar cuts. But despite this disheartening deja vu, the agency is in a better position now than it was 12 months ago, when a $1.2 billion budget gap led to the “doomsday” proposal of 25% fare hikes and service cuts across the system.
Last December, a commission convened by Gov. Paterson to address the MTA’s funding gap released the Ravitch Plan, a package of funding sources and governance reforms that included tolls on the East and Harlem River crossings, a payroll tax in the downstate region, and a 8% fare increase.
Tri-State and the many other organizations in the Empire State Transportation Alliance and Keep New York Moving coalitions conducted an unprecedented advocacy effort in support of long-term transit funding that included multiple trips to Albany, an advertising campaign, public events throughout the region, and online work.
In February, the State Assembly appeared ready to back bridge tolls set at the price of a subway fare, but the Senate balked. Finally, in May both houses of the Legislature passed a plan including the payroll tax, a package of vehicle fees, and a 10% fare hike which appeared to close the budget gap and partially fund the MTA capital program. As part of the funding and reform legislation, MTA executive director Elliot Sander resigned and his position was combined with the board chair’s. Gov. Paterson nominated London transit executive Jay Walder to run the system in July, and Walder began work in October.
In August, the MTA submitted a $28 billion capital program for 2010-14 that will bring the system closer to a state of good repair, complete existing megaprojects (such as East Side Access and the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway) and increase funds for bus rapid transit. It was adopted by the MTA Board in September but has not been approved by either the Capital Program Review Board or State Legislature — and even with approval, the program faces a $10 billion funding gap.
December opened with a string of bad developments for the MTA’s budget: the state cut aid, the payroll tax garnered less revenue than predicted, and an arbitrator upheld raises to unionized MTA workers. In order to balance its budget, the agency resurrected many of the previously proposed “doomsday” service cuts, which will take effect in summer 2010 absent a solution from the state. Various options to close the gap have been recommended by elected officials and advocates.
New York State Department of Transportation
The federal stimulus dominated NYSDOT’s agenda in the winter and spring. The agency wisely concentrated its funds on road and bridge repair, but struggled to get money out the door in a timely fashion. Commissioner Astrid Glynn stepped down in April, leaving deputy Stan Gee to run the agency in an acting capacity. Since then, a few of the smart growth programs instituted by Glynn have limped along, but the agency has not shown a consistent smart growth philosophy. On Long Island, the NYSDOT regional office worked with advocates and community members to produce a plan for Route 347 that accommodates all road users. Plans to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge and add transit between Suffern and Port Jervis moved forward, and transit-oriented land use training for towns in the corridor began in November. But the department also canceled a Long Island traffic calming program (TSTC won back funding), illegally allowed cars onto the Staten Island Expressway’s bus lanes, and was poised to waste hundreds of millions of dollars on an expansion of the Major Deegan Expressway until community and advocate opposition turned back the project.
